In El Paso this morning, 30-year-old Irving Marquez was sentenced to the statutory maximum 20 years in federal prison for receiving and distributing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John F. Bash and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Jack P. Staton, El Paso.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge David C. Guaderrama ordered that Marquez pay $3,200 restitution to four victims and be placed under supervised release for life after completing his prison term.

In March 2017, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) notified HSI agents that potential child pornography was located on a Flickr account operated by the defendant. Federal authorities subsequently located images and videos of child pornography on the account and on numerous devices belonging to the defendant, including his personal computer and multiple cell phones. A forensics examination of the seized materials revealed the presence of hundreds of videos and images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit activity. On August 22, 2018, Marquez pleaded guilty to the charge of receiving and distributing child pornography.

“This sentence is fitting of the crime, and we owe it to the youngest victims of these heinous acts to ensure that the perpetrators pay a high price for their offenses,” said Jack P. Staton, special agent in charge of HSI El Paso. “HSI special agents remain committed to identifying and arresting child predators.”

HSI agents in El Paso conducted this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mallory Rasmussen prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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